UPDATED APRIL 9, 2026
Your blog should be a treasure trove of valuable content. The kind of content that will attract your target audience to your website and set them on the road to becoming paying customers.
But if the content you’ve created so far hasn’t had the response, or made the difference, you were hoping for, I may be able to improve it and create better content going forward.
And that’s what this post is about.
But first, an overview of the objectives.
The objectives of blog content
When I’m creating blog content, I keep these objectives in mind to help me stay on the right track.
To attract
One of the main things your blog should do is attract your target audience. I do this by creating the content your target audience is searching for and search-engine-optimising it so it shows up where they’ll be looking for it.
To engage, inform and inspire
Once we’ve attracted your target audience, we need to keep them on your site. I do this with engaging content that gives them the information or inspiration they’re looking for.
To show expertise
You’re the expert. I’ll fill your blog with articles that show you know your stuff and help to build your target audience’s confidence in you.
To build trust
People buy from brands and businesses they know, like and trust.
Your blog is a great place for your target audience to get to know you, come to like you and start to trust you. So everything I write is geared to helping you become known, liked and — most of all — trusted.
You’ll notice I haven’t included ‘To sell’
That’s not because a blog can’t sell or convert prospects into customers.
But selling isn’t one of the direct objectives. Instead, it’s more of a by-product. Something that will happen as a result of all of the other objectives I’m working towards.
People who are just looking for information won’t appreciate being sold to. So, unless I’m writing a rare sales post, I’ll avoid directly selling.
What is Google looking for?
First, let’s be clear about something: your content should be written for your audience and not for Google.
This is actually what Google is looking for, too. Its algorithms rate high-value content that satisfies its human audience by answering their questions and providing them with the information they’re searching for.
As a guide, Google favours content that:
- Is original, with no duplication
- Contains original information, reporting and research
- Is substantial, comprehensive and complete
- Provides valuable insight
- Offers better value than the other pages in the search results
- Serves its human audience and is not just written for algorithms
- Satisfies its Quality Rater Guidelines with Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness*.
*You can read more about this in my article: Practical ways to demonstrate E-E-A-T >>
How I create the most valuable content
Here are 20 ways I’ll help you up your content game, creating content that’s more valuable for your audience, your brand and for ranking well on Google.
1. Create the content your audience wants to see
You want your target audience to come to you, so this is where I’ll start. By creating the kind of content that will attract them to your site and search-engine-optimising it so they can find it.
To do this effectively, I research what they’re searching for online.
For example:
- What questions are they asking?
- What problems/challenges are they having?
- What do they need help with?
- What advice are they searching for?
- What how-tos are they looking up?
If they’re searching for it, that means they want to read it.
2. Create different kinds of content
Your blog should have a range of content that appeals to different kinds of readers. From those who are only just realising they have a need, want or problem to those who’ve done their research and are primed and ready to buy.
For example, your content might include:
- Answers to their questions
- Information and statistics
- Hacks, tips and advice
- Inspiration and ideas
- Checklists and templates
- How-to guides and instructions
- Solutions to their problems.
3. Remember the SEO
Search-Engine-Optimisation is what will help your audience to find your articles online.
This means:
- Researching how your target audience is searching
- Using the right language and phrasing
- Optimising for relevance and search intent.
4. Use the best media for the job
When I’m considering the content your audience wants to see, I also think about the media that best suits that content and will provide the most value.
For example:
- Style guides: photographs + text
- Travel posts: photographs/video + text
- Technical instructions: illustrations + text
- Product demonstrations: video + text transcript/option to read
- Case studies: video interview + photographs + text
- Interviews: audio/video + text transcript.
You’ll notice I’ve included text with all of the above and this is because the algorithms are still predominantly using words to rank your content.
5. Do your own research
Google rates original research, so I’ll help you conduct your own.
Ask your community
If you have access to a customer database or an online community, I could help you run your own research survey and publish the results.
Research like this could help you:
- Test a hypothesis or widely held belief
- Gain some better insight into your target market
- Show patterns in preferences and behaviours
- Gather perspectives and opinions on industry topics.
When we have the results, I’ll add your expert analysis to create content that’s unique to you.
Ask the experts
If you have access to experts in your field, you could ask a small number to take part in a more in-depth interview.
For example, they could give their expert opinion on current industry issues, or use their knowledge and insight to predict future developments.
Test a product
If you’re selling products, we could put one to the test in the name of research.
For example, you could conduct a test, comparison test or series of challenges to research, document and demonstrate its:
- Performance
- Efficiency
- Versatility
- Cost/energy savings
- Time savings.
I could write up your findings as a blog and include your images or video.
If you’re making a video, we should always include a transcript. This will help the algorithms to understand what your content is about and help potential customers with accessibility needs.
6. Use your own experience
Including real-life experiences in your content will make it valuable and unique.
For example, I could help you by:
- Telling a true story
- Publishing a customer case study*
- Giving a behind the scenes look at your operation
- Showing how you’re dealing with a current challenge or issue
- Writing about an an experience you’ve had within your industry.
*If you’re using a customer as a case study, make sure you get their permission first.
7. Use relevant examples
Giving relevant, evidence-based examples will help to illustrate and prove the points you’re making. Seeing examples often clarifies those points for your audience and improves their understanding.
8. Collate statistics and facts
Google rates valuable content, so it pays to add as much value as you can.
When researching a piece of content, I use and cite multiple sources of information — not just the same ones everyone else is using.
Bringing together information and examples from lots of different sources, like this, makes your piece more comprehensive and credible.
I vet my sources carefully to make sure they’re valid and the most current available.
9. Create content that doesn’t exist yet
If there’s content that doesn’t exist yet, there’s a golden opportunity for you. Because that content will be extremely valuable to those who need it and haven’t been able to find it anywhere else.
To find these opportunities, I’ll look at:
- Content creators in your niche
- Your audience’s questions and needs
- Emerging and upcoming trends/tech.
I’ll see if there’s anything everyone else seems to be missing or if there’s an opportunity for you to create a new trend of your own.
10. Be objective and impartial
This can be a struggle. Because being impartial means you sometimes have to point out the downsides of your own product — or say why a different solution might be more suitable.
And that seems counter-intuitive, because you should always be promoting your own stuff, right?
Well… not always.
Because your stuff won’t always be what’s best for everyone.
If you do end up selling, you’ll want to sell to your ideal customers, because they’re the best fit for what you’re offering. Selling to bad-fit customers could mean leaving those customers unhappy, which can lead to bad reviews.
Plus, promoting your own stuff without pointing out its limitations and areas where it might be unsuitable will make it feel like a sales pitch.
The most valuable content gives the best and fairest advice for different situations. And this will also help to build trust in your brand.
11. Be consistent
Consistency is important for building trust. And having the trust of your target market is something that’s valuable to your brand.
What do I mean by ‘consistent’?
Show up consistently
Be present and dependable. Post new blog and social media content regularly. Talk about current issues that are relevant to your industry and don’t be afraid to have an opinion.
Have a consistent message
Your brand message should always be the same, with no deviation or contradiction.
Use a consistent tone of voice
Your brand should always sound the same, with the same personality and tone of voice in every piece of content you put out there.
12. Make your content accessible
To give the most value, your content should be accessible to everyone who needs it.
That means using:
- Plain language your audience will understand
- A light background with dark text, for easy reading
- A clear, legible font at a reasonable size
- Short paragraphs and lots of white space
- Relevant and meaningful headings
- Subtitles and transcripts on video/audio content
- Meaningful alt tag descriptions on your images
- Descriptive text links for linking to other content.
I’ll do everything on my part to make your content accessible.
13. Support your content with credible information
Content is instantly more valuable when it includes credible information from official and trustworthy sources.
For example, I might use research findings from:
- Respected media publications
- Universities and other institutions
- Large companies and corporates
- Professional bodies and organisations.
Wherever possible, I’ll locate and link to the original source of the information, not just a blog post that mentions it.
14. Ensure your article length is proportionate
The length of any blog article should be proportionate with the subject.
If a post is too short to cover the subject matter in sufficient detail, the algorithms could view it as not valuable enough. If the post is too long for the subject matter, they could take the view that it must be low on substance and full of waffle.
For example a 500-word article entitled ‘The complete history of the steam locomotive’ wouldn’t be long enough, but a 500-word article on how Apple’s Siri works might be.
15. Go compare!
When I’ve written your content, I’ll go and check out the competition.
This usually means doing a Google search to see what other articles have been published on the same topics and looking at the articles on the first page. These are the articles you’ll be competing with.
I’ll be asking:
- How do these articles compare with what I’ve written for you?
- Does your article have more or less information?
- Is your article as comprehensive and detailed?
- Does your article make the same conclusions?
And based on the answers, I’ll see how I can:
- Improve your article, while maintaining your originality
- Add something new to the conversation
- Introduce a fresh perspective or different way of thinking
- Find a different angle that hasn’t been covered yet.
16. Use smart formatting
People skim-read on a screen. I realised a long time ago that I’m not going to change what comes naturally to them — so I lean into it.
The articles I write are designed for skimming.
I split the articles into short sections, introduced with relevant headings.
I break each section into short paragraphs of 1-4 lines. And I vary the lengths of the paragraphs to make them more visually appealing.
I split long lists into bullet points, which are easier to read. And I use visuals wherever it makes sense.
Taking these steps makes your content less daunting and enables your visitors to skim read and find the information they’re looking for quickly and easily.
The headings also help Google, by outlining the content of your post.
17. Check the quality
Google rewards quality content, so before I send the article to you for approval, I:
- Proofread, edit and spell-check my work
- Ensure any links I’ve included are working
- Check the hierarchy of my headings
- Ensure the article has categories, tags, excerpts and meta tags
- Include alt text for your images to describe what they show in words.
18. Link to other relevant content
The most valuable content is helpful to your audience. It anticipates what they’ll want to do next and points them in the right direction.
For example, will they want to:
- Learn more about the subject?
- Find the answer to a new question?
- Watch another tutorial?
- Read a complementary article?
- Learn about your product or service?
I consider this when I’m writing the article and make sure I include the right links at the most relevant points.
19. Repurpose your content
Different people prefer to consume different kinds of content. For example, some will like reading, some will like listening and some will like video or visuals.
I include an ebook with my content packages with ideas for promoting and repurposing your blog articles.
20. Keep it fresh
Once the content is published on your site, I’ll help you keep it fresh with updates and improvements as necessary.
There are basically three types of blog content:
- Evergreen content that’s always fresh and never dates
- Updatable content that needs periodically updating
- Short shelf-life content that can’t be updated.
You should aim to have a mixture of all three.
Evergreen content
Evergreen content doesn’t contain statistics or changeable information, so it should stay fresh for a long time. But, as you grow, it pays to check on it every once in a while to make sure it still represents your best work.
Updatable content
The themes of updatable content can stay relevant for some time, but the statistics and information will date. So, periodically, we’ll need to return to these posts to refresh them with the most current data and republish them. If there are changes, we’ll need to make sure you update your commentary on them too.
Short shelf-life content
Some content has a much shorter shelf-life. It might talk about passing trends or make specific predictions about what might happen within a given period of time.
Having content like this is a good thing because it shows you’re forward thinking and have your finger on the pulse. But the nature of this content means we’ll probably be left deleting it rather than updating or repurposing.
Repurposing older content
If old content can’t be refreshed, you may be able to repurpose it instead. For example, you could take parts from older blogs to use in new ones. Or use the content you originally created to inspire something new and more current.
Do you need high-quality blog content?
I’m Jenny Lucas, a freelance content strategist and writer based in Leicester, UK.
Check out my blog for more articles on Content Creation, SEO and Working with me.
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